MoonChilde
05-17-2005, 03:12 PM
Don't know if anyone has read this review ..it was posted on another board that I belong to..
"Stevie Nicks' performance a gift for rapt fans"
By Spencer Patterson
<spencer@...>
LAS VEGAS SUN
When: Friday.
Where: The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
Rating (out of 5 stars): *** 1/2
I heard more tambourine during Friday night's Stevie Nicks concert
that I have at all the other shows I've reviewed for the Las Vegas
Sun combined.
Not that Nicks or her band featured the jingling instrument much. Far
from it, the headlining vocalist only brought hers out for a couple
of numbers, and then used it mainly as a prop, hardly striking it at
all.
The tambourine work actually came courtesy of a fan seated just to my
left, dead center and about 15 rows back from the stage at The
Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
I say seated, because technically the woman was in possession of a
seat for the night. From the moment the lights dimmed, however, she
stayed on her feet, dancing for the duration of the hour and 45
minute event and shaking her noisemaker almost continuously.
Though Ms. Tambourine was the most conspicuous fanatic in my area,
she was hardly the only passionate Nicks devotee among the crowd of
around 3,500 present for the third of a four-night Caesars Palace run
that began Tuesday and wrapped up Saturday.
Since her early days in Fleetwood Mac in the mid-1970s, Nicks has
been quite beloved, a fact attributable as much to her mystical
persona as to her distinctive voice.
Until Friday, though, I'd never quite realized the full extent of the
idolization.
The audience cheered every time Nicks twirled in place or returned
from a costume change. Men shouted "I love you, Stevie!" during quiet
moments. Pockets of fans stood for the duration, cheering vigorously
and waving at Nicks whenever she looked their way.
A woman in front of me announced that Nicks looked great for 56 years
old, then rattled off her exact date of birth -- May 26, 1948, in
case you were wondering.
Near the end of the show, dozens of ardent supporters poured down the
aisles toward the stage, gathering for an apparent Nicks tradition.
As her seven-piece band and three back-up vocalists extended the end
of "Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove)," Nicks
slowly worked her way across the front of the stage, interacting with
fans as she went.
Some shook her hand. Several tossed flowers. Others simply touched
her. One man approached so vigorously, he had to be restrained by a
bodyguard.
No doubt, those hardcore types went home feeling as though they had
witnessed something miraculous, some probably for the second or third
night that week.
For me, however, Friday's concert felt a bit lacking, failing to live
up to the potential of matching a first-rate performer with an
exceptional venue.
In pre-show interviews, Nicks promised to deliver a visually
spectacular set, taking advantage of the massive Colosseum stage and
giant LED screen.
Instead, she and her band grouped near the middle of the stage in a
relatively bare arrangement and used a scaled-back video screen -- in
the shape of a half-circle -- with mixed results.
During "Outside the Rain," giant digitized raindrops provided a
suitable visual focal point behind Nicks and her mates.
Black-and-white images of ballet dancers superimposed over a color
shot of running water made less sense during "If Anyone Falls," and
that backdrop was made even weirder when six giant Roman columns
descended from the ceiling for the same song.
Vocally, Nicks was impressive. Her unmistakable rasp has always had
an aged quality to it, so it's no real surprise she can still deliver
it so powerfully.
She no longer reaches for the high notes on "Dreams" or "Rhiannon,"
but both Mac classics sounded magical nonetheless, a tribute to
Nicks' captivating, slightly ominous voice.
Other highlights included a fun, synthed-out version of the 1983 solo
hit "Stand Back" and the gentle, acoustic "Landslide" -- dedicated to
Nicks' mother, who the singer announced was in the crowd.
Several song choices seemed odd. After getting the crowd moving with
well-known tunes "Gold Dust Woman" and "If Anyone Falls" back-to-
back, Nicks reached for deep album cuts "Fall From Grace" and "How
Still My Heart."
Then, instead of closing with the revved-up "Edge of Seventeen,"
Nicks returned with a most peculiar encore pairing: a cover of Tom
Petty's "I Need to Know" and the rather bleak ballad "Beauty and the
Beast."
Casual fans probably would have preferred to hear more of Nicks' best-
known work, be it Fleetwood Mac favorites "Sara" or "Gypsy" or solo
singles "I Can't Wait" or "Rooms on Fire."
Then again, a set list dominated by hits likely wouldn't have
satisfied the diehards, who make it a point to remind Nicks of their
presence every time she takes the stage.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2005/may/16/518762087.html
"Stevie Nicks' performance a gift for rapt fans"
By Spencer Patterson
<spencer@...>
LAS VEGAS SUN
When: Friday.
Where: The Colosseum at Caesars Palace
Rating (out of 5 stars): *** 1/2
I heard more tambourine during Friday night's Stevie Nicks concert
that I have at all the other shows I've reviewed for the Las Vegas
Sun combined.
Not that Nicks or her band featured the jingling instrument much. Far
from it, the headlining vocalist only brought hers out for a couple
of numbers, and then used it mainly as a prop, hardly striking it at
all.
The tambourine work actually came courtesy of a fan seated just to my
left, dead center and about 15 rows back from the stage at The
Colosseum at Caesars Palace.
I say seated, because technically the woman was in possession of a
seat for the night. From the moment the lights dimmed, however, she
stayed on her feet, dancing for the duration of the hour and 45
minute event and shaking her noisemaker almost continuously.
Though Ms. Tambourine was the most conspicuous fanatic in my area,
she was hardly the only passionate Nicks devotee among the crowd of
around 3,500 present for the third of a four-night Caesars Palace run
that began Tuesday and wrapped up Saturday.
Since her early days in Fleetwood Mac in the mid-1970s, Nicks has
been quite beloved, a fact attributable as much to her mystical
persona as to her distinctive voice.
Until Friday, though, I'd never quite realized the full extent of the
idolization.
The audience cheered every time Nicks twirled in place or returned
from a costume change. Men shouted "I love you, Stevie!" during quiet
moments. Pockets of fans stood for the duration, cheering vigorously
and waving at Nicks whenever she looked their way.
A woman in front of me announced that Nicks looked great for 56 years
old, then rattled off her exact date of birth -- May 26, 1948, in
case you were wondering.
Near the end of the show, dozens of ardent supporters poured down the
aisles toward the stage, gathering for an apparent Nicks tradition.
As her seven-piece band and three back-up vocalists extended the end
of "Edge of Seventeen (Just Like the White Winged Dove)," Nicks
slowly worked her way across the front of the stage, interacting with
fans as she went.
Some shook her hand. Several tossed flowers. Others simply touched
her. One man approached so vigorously, he had to be restrained by a
bodyguard.
No doubt, those hardcore types went home feeling as though they had
witnessed something miraculous, some probably for the second or third
night that week.
For me, however, Friday's concert felt a bit lacking, failing to live
up to the potential of matching a first-rate performer with an
exceptional venue.
In pre-show interviews, Nicks promised to deliver a visually
spectacular set, taking advantage of the massive Colosseum stage and
giant LED screen.
Instead, she and her band grouped near the middle of the stage in a
relatively bare arrangement and used a scaled-back video screen -- in
the shape of a half-circle -- with mixed results.
During "Outside the Rain," giant digitized raindrops provided a
suitable visual focal point behind Nicks and her mates.
Black-and-white images of ballet dancers superimposed over a color
shot of running water made less sense during "If Anyone Falls," and
that backdrop was made even weirder when six giant Roman columns
descended from the ceiling for the same song.
Vocally, Nicks was impressive. Her unmistakable rasp has always had
an aged quality to it, so it's no real surprise she can still deliver
it so powerfully.
She no longer reaches for the high notes on "Dreams" or "Rhiannon,"
but both Mac classics sounded magical nonetheless, a tribute to
Nicks' captivating, slightly ominous voice.
Other highlights included a fun, synthed-out version of the 1983 solo
hit "Stand Back" and the gentle, acoustic "Landslide" -- dedicated to
Nicks' mother, who the singer announced was in the crowd.
Several song choices seemed odd. After getting the crowd moving with
well-known tunes "Gold Dust Woman" and "If Anyone Falls" back-to-
back, Nicks reached for deep album cuts "Fall From Grace" and "How
Still My Heart."
Then, instead of closing with the revved-up "Edge of Seventeen,"
Nicks returned with a most peculiar encore pairing: a cover of Tom
Petty's "I Need to Know" and the rather bleak ballad "Beauty and the
Beast."
Casual fans probably would have preferred to hear more of Nicks' best-
known work, be it Fleetwood Mac favorites "Sara" or "Gypsy" or solo
singles "I Can't Wait" or "Rooms on Fire."
Then again, a set list dominated by hits likely wouldn't have
satisfied the diehards, who make it a point to remind Nicks of their
presence every time she takes the stage.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2005/may/16/518762087.html